Daily Times

The Pakistan Economic Survey (PES) 2022-23 released on Thursday noted that the transport infrastructure sector in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had achieved remarkable success.

PES emphasized the importance of modern transportation infrastructure, CPEC offers Pakistan a unique opportunity to integrate with the regional markets. On the Eastern Alignment (roadway projects located in Sindh and Punjab), the groundbreaking of the Sukkar-Hyderabad (M-6) section of the motorway was done in December 2022, Gwadar Pro reported on Friday.

On the Western Alignment (projects located in Northwestern Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhaw, and Baluchistan), the groundbreaking of the Dera Ismail Khan- Sagu section of N50 was also done during the same period, said the budgetary document.

Moreover, the construction on the 298 km Zhob to Kuchlak road project was in progress. Also, other projects such as Khuzdar-Basima (110 km), Nokundi-Mashkhel (103 km), and Hoshab-Awaran M-8 (146 km) were under implementation and expected to be completed as per timelines. Furthermore, Sagu-Zhob Project N-50 was under discussion with the Chinese side and is expected to be started soon, said the PES document.

The concessional financing agreement for the landmark ML-1 project is expected to be finalized soon, and subsequently, arrangements will be made for the ground-breaking of the project.

In addition to this, the framework agreement of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) has been shared with the Chinese side to take up the project under CPEC framework, it added.

Lastly, PES stated that the feasibility studies of the new projects Mirpur-Muzaffarabad-Mansehra (MMM), M-9 Motorway and Babusar Tunnel have been proposed to be considered under CPEC framework in the forthcoming Joint Working Group meeting of transport infrastructure.